Cancer and the microbiome: from association to intervention.

Higher microbial diversity and enrichment of immunostimulatory pathways in the gut microbiome are linked to improved immune checkpoint inhibitor response and survival in melanoma, non-small-cell lung cancer, and renal cell carcinoma.

• Why it matters: Understanding how the microbiome influences cancer therapy outcomes is crucial because it offers potential for modifiable interventions to enhance treatment efficacy and reduce toxicity, addressing a significant gap in personalized cancer care.
• What they did: The authors reviewed current evidence on the microbiome’s role in anticancer therapy, focusing on associations with treatment outcomes, and evaluated microbiome-targeted interventions such as faecal microbiota transplantation, dietary modifications, prebiotics, probiotics, and live biotherapeutics, which are still investigational.
• The result: Findings suggest that microbiome modulation may improve therapy responses, but challenges remain in translating these strategies into clinical practice, and emerging insights into the mycobiome could further inform future interventions.